Author Archive - Maanit Zemel

Maanit Zemel is a commercial litigator admitted to practice in Ontario and New York, with substantial experience and expertise in Internet and social media law, including Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), privacy, online defamation, cyberbullying and cyber-security. Read more.

In the highly-publicized decision of Doe v. N.D., the Ontario court recently granted a victim of cyberbullying significant damages, to compensate her for the serious emotional and reputational harm she suffered in the hands of the defendant.

In the recent decision of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court of Crouch v Snell, the Court struck the Cyber-Safety Act, finding it to be unconstitutional. Specifically, the Court held that the Cyber-Safety Act violated section 2(b) (freedom of expression) and section 7 (the guarantee of life, liberty and security of the person) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. What impact does the Crouch v Snell decision have on the Federal cyberbullying laws?

Every business knows that online reviews matter. They are today’s equivalent of “word of mouth”. It is to be expected that most businesses will, at some point, receive negative reviews online. After all, unhappy consumers tend to want to share their negative experience with the world. Those negative reviews may have a great impact on the business’ financial success or failure.

In last month’s post, I provided some tips to those of you who may be facing a regulatory prosecution under Canada’s now famous (some might say infamous) anti-spam legislation (CASL) . Those tips may of particular interest to Compu-Finder, a Quebec company that has found itself to be the first major target of CASL’s regulatory […]

Have you or your company received a notice from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Committee (“CRTC”) that you are the subject of a complaint under Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (“CASL”)? If so, you are not alone. Since CASL came into force on July 1, 2014, the CRTC has reportedly received over 210,000 complaints for violations of CASL.

The recent tragic death of the legendary actor and comedian Robin Williams is one such example. Mr. William’s suicide was not a result of cyberbullying. Rather, it resulted in cyberbullying – of Mr. William’s grieving daughter, Zelda Williams.

Tomorrow is July 1, 2014. It is a day that marks Canada’s “birthday”. It is also the date of the coming into force of Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). While most Canadians will be out celebrating Canada Day with their families and friends, they should also be in compliance with CASL. But are they?

With only five weeks left before Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation’s (CASL) main requirements come into force, one of CASL’s regulators, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), has released a series of much anticipated “FAQs” .

Over the past months, I have been writing, lecturing and advising on Canada’s anti-spam legislation (CASL). In discussing the legislation, I have encountered many myths and misconceptions about CASL and its implications. This is not surprising. The legislation and accompanying regulations create a complex and often confusing regulatory regime that contains more questions than answers.